iMac refresh is imminent, according to reseller sources

The latest word from behind Apple-authorized cashiers is that Cupertino has stopped shipping out fresh stock of its entry-level 21-inch iMac. The Core 2 Duo-equipped machines were already looking long in the tooth in this Core i-something era, and so predictably the latest speculation centers around the idea of Apple taking its full iMac range into Core i3, i5 and i7 territory. Nobody really knows any of the specs for the moment, but resellers are apparently being advised to sell through what stock they have and to "keep inventories lean" for the next few weeks. Considering Apple's last all-in-one overhaul coincided with the introduction of the Magic Mouse, we're starting to suspect the company might have another iMac plus touch input device combo coming -- potentially in the very near future.

[madeofrain Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:59AM]

@Almo I've used Apple machines for 18 years, I've always been happy with my purchase but I'm not an evangelist..I couldn't give a rats ar$e what other people buy. I could have done more to address his concerns about reliability, but 5 years before I had any problems to me is pretty fecking reliable..Maybe he's still getting his £££ worth from his spectrum +2? Who knows?

I use PC's in the studio,but Mac's at home for freelance, so believe me I know the value of a mac!
The spec argument is valid though sorry. If your OK with the level of maintenance needed to keep windows running efficiently and you've got the know-how to build your own..You'll have a better spec machine for less ££..End of. Which is a valid concern if your an avid gamer.

If you want an end to end solution that's low maintenance and you care about the aesthetics of your machine (some people don't) then pony up for a mac.

[drkztan Posted Jul 26th 2010 6:57PM]

@madeofrain i'll join just because I can see you at least have some arguments other than the usual one click mouse shit that is thrown all over the place.
The bad thing about building a rig from ground zero is time. from your posts i can see you are a grown man, around 25-35 years old, that works. you know how this goes. you get home and the last thing you want to do is mantainance work on windows. you said it yourself, you use mac for freelance. its just a better workspace, like working on a 5yo table versus a ivory desk. macs mantain themselves overtime, and i'm sure, (from what i've read, you seem a graphics designer amirite?) that you current setup handles mid high graphics on recent games, so what? do you really want to count the hairs on a zombie'z eyebrow before using that missile launcher??? i think super high end graphics are seriously overrated. especially on a pc. if you really are an avid gamer, spend money once on a games console instead of buying a new graphics card every year just to play everything on max settings.

[Sheppard Posted Jul 23rd 2010 6:18AM]

AGAIN?

Theyve only just had a refresh, how about just leaving it for a year then doing a BIG update all at once instead of little incremental updates months after someones just gone out and spent £1500+ on an Apple machine.

[Almo Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:07AM]

@Sheppard

The last iteration came out Oct 20 2009. By the time the new one ships, it'll be a year....

[briguy266 Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:14AM]

@Sheppard That what you get for buying an apple machine... Why dont you think the first gen iPad's have cameras? Because they want you to buy their product in incremental updates to make more money from sheep minded consumer.

[Hoo Posted Jul 23rd 2010 6:20AM]

Now when are they going to update the 13 inch Macbooks and Macbook Pros from a core2duo. Thats the only thing stopping me from buying one.

[NoOrdinaryMSFT Posted Jul 23rd 2010 6:22AM]

no fucking kidding.

[pika2000 Posted Jul 23rd 2010 6:23AM]

I don't think the refresh would be that exciting. Probably just a switch over for the whole lineup to ix processors, nothing else.
I'm more anxious waiting for iLife 2010.

[Michael Scrip Posted Jul 23rd 2010 6:29AM]

A couple questions to all the people who want Blu-Ray in the next iMac...

1. Do you have a Blu-Ray player/burner in your current PC?

2. Would you really buy an iMac if it had one?

You can get an external Blu-Ray burner for a Mac if you really wanted one... but wouldn't it be better to get a Blu-Ray player that hooked directly to your HDTV?

Or get a PS3 ?

[Naterm Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:08AM]

@Michael Scrip

I don't think Blu-Ray is a deal maker or deal breaker in any machine. I don't think anyone would use it for playback anyway.

I would buy a Blu-Ray drive for a Mac Pro, however. The Mac Pro would be a good machine for ripping BDs and BD-Rs make a decent back-up choice. They're more expensive than hard drives, but it's a good idea to keep your most important stuff on multiple formats. Mainly for the ripping though, but I'd have to install Windows on it for that.

[Oflife Posted Jul 23rd 2010 6:37AM]

iMac Touch 21"? (Remember rumours of an Apple vendor prepping 21" multi touch LCDs last year?" May have just been rumor of course.)

[Almo Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:15AM]

@Oflife

It seems more likely that it'll just have a touchpad external device like the one leaked instead of complete touchscreen unfortunately...

[Oflife Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:31AM]

@Almo Yup. Could be. After toying with an iPad, and really wanting to believe, just could not get on with on screen touch keyboards. Fingers like tactile response. But to use multitouch with creative apps like Final Cut and Photoshop would be fantastic - just try iMovie on iPhone, so intuitive!

[Naterm Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:05AM]

When in the name of god are they going to update the Mac Pro? I like how the Apple media (MacRumors, ect) report that there are shortages of a certain processor make every time Apple doesn't upgrade. They said there was a shortage of mobile Core i5/i7 processors when Apple was slow upgrading the Macbook Pro. This despite the fact that all the other major OEMs had them a month or two before Apple. They have recently said there is a shortage of Westmere-EP four and six-core processors. There is no shortage that I am aware of. Every other OEM is offering them in servers and workstations and you can buy retail boxed and OEM processors individually online. I think Apple is caring less and less about it's computers.

[Joao Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:36AM]

@Naterm

"No shortage that I am aware of".

So I am to assume that you're in the business of manufacturing millions of computers and assuring product delivery dates?

Or are you talking about your last trip to Newegg.com to see what was on the sales page?

[Joao Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:37AM]

@Naterm

"No shortage that I am aware of".

So I am to assume that you're in the business of manufacturing millions of computers and assuring product delivery dates?

Or are you talking about your last trip to Newegg.com to see what was on the sales page?

I'll venture to say that latter.

I love the wanna be internet CEO's - Monday morning quarterbacking it from their mothers basement.

[Kelmon Posted Jul 23rd 2010 7:52AM]

I bought my Core i7 27" iMac a couple of months ago. Theoretically I should be kicking myself that Apple is now about to release a replacement that will have better specifications. However, I'm not bothered because what I have is damned awesome and it doesn't have any problems. There's a lot to be said for not being the first lemming.

Simples.

[Wharoll Posted Jul 23rd 2010 10:26AM]

@Kelmon

I don't think there will be any big upgrade for the 27" iMac.
They're targeting the core 2 duo machines i think

[Kelmon Posted Jul 23rd 2010 11:01AM]

@Wharoll

In all honesty they could deliver a new version of what I bought where everything is massively improved and I wouldn't care. This is kinda what annoys me. Whenever Apple releases a new version of their hardware you inevitably get someone complaining that they just bought the previous version. If the previous version wasn't what they wanted then why did they buy it? Besides, it's not as if whatever you buy isn't technologically obsolete anyway.

[Makali Posted Jul 23rd 2010 9:07AM]

Steve open up MAC osx plz

[Jack Posted Jul 23rd 2010 12:50PM]

@Makali

Apple is a hardware company. They use OS X to sell hardware. OS X will not be allowed (legally) on non-Apple PCs any time in the foreseeable future.

[Digital1 Posted Jul 23rd 2010 9:36AM]

Everyone likes their own hardware and software. Every hardware and software eco system has it's strengths and weaknesses. Linux,OSX and even Windows. All this bickering.

[ChaoZ Posted Jul 23rd 2010 10:18AM]

Where the hell are the new Mac Pros?

[Casey2010 Posted Jul 23rd 2010 11:02AM]

I had to check my address bar and make sure that I wasn't somehow "magically" redirected to MacRumors...

[Jack Posted Jul 23rd 2010 12:51PM]

@Casey2010

Did you also have to "magically" click on the article, "magically" read it and then "magically" leave a comment? Did somebody "magically" force you to do all that?

Or could you have just "magically" ignored it?

[Beamo Posted Jul 23rd 2010 1:59PM]

bugger. was hoping for some useful insights into when the 27" might be refreshed in the comment, but all I got was a load of fektard bitching about what they think are the benefits of windows over osx and visa versa. Should have expected as much really.

[Eric Sorensen Posted Jul 23rd 2010 2:28PM]

And the new iMac with have a magical new device called a Blu-ray player! Well, maybe not just yet... I'm sure Apple plans to stream 1080i movies through iTunes.

[LSE Posted Jul 23rd 2010 2:33PM]

does anybody care about macs anymore? if the PC is allegedly "dead" then what about macs?

[Jack Posted Jul 23rd 2010 3:25PM]

@LSE

Mac sales are rising every quarter, by a lot. So I'd say they're not dead.

[kenny goo Posted Jul 23rd 2010 3:59PM]

So this is one of those "amazing products" that Apple is coming out with, right Jack? Do you think we'll finally get HDMI input on the iMac like every other new monitor and all-in-one in the world? FUCKING AMAZING!

Hell, if they actually bothered to upgrade their $1,200+ overpriced piece of shit to the level of every other all-in-one their competition is putting out by giving it a touchscreen, that couldn't exactly hurt either. Just saying.

[Beamo Posted Jul 24th 2010 3:06AM]

@kenny goo I havent seen an implementation of touch screen on a desktop thats not a gimmick yet. The software just isnt there and frankly I personally can't see myself or anyone poking a 2 foot screen in front of me. doesn't feel right

[mightymikey Posted Jul 24th 2010 6:48AM]

Wait, so are they only updating the 21.5 inch iMac or they doing the 27inch model as well? Cause i have enough money to buy a decent spec one at the moment. Should i buy now or wait? hmm...

[Mike V Posted Jul 24th 2010 10:02AM]

How can you say the 27" iMac isn't amazing value for money?

A similar monitor alone from Dell with an IPS panel is a grand.

[Guimo Posted Jul 25th 2010 7:38AM]

I'm not really a Mac fan or convinced on any superiority of OSX over other OSs or the hardware. But while looking for a laptop my son got near an iMac in the store, started a couple of programs, captured some photos of us and played a video... and he is a 3 year old boy so that says a lot on how easy to use is a Mac.

Honestly, I would consider an iMac the next time I would get a desktop PC. Good space savers.

[alias24 Posted Jul 26th 2010 3:50AM]

Even online orders (27'') are now delayed:

"Die Nachfrage nach dem von Ihnen bestellten Produkt ist größer als erwartet. Wir werden Ihr Produkt so schnell wie möglich liefern, können aber den ursprünglich angestrebten Versandtermin leider nicht einhalten.

Wir rechnen damit, die von Ihnen bestellte Ware bis zum 02.08.2010 versenden zu können. Wir bestätigen, dass Ihre Bestellung am oder vor dem 11.08.2010 an Ihre Lieferadresse geliefert wird.

Wir entschuldigen uns vielmals für die Unannehmlichkeiten, die Ihnen möglicherweise durch diese Verzögerung entstehen.

Mit freundlichen Grüssen
Ihr Apple Store"

[zoomos Posted Jul 26th 2010 3:20PM]

I'm hoping the update comes in august! I really want to get my iMac 27.. been waiting for months to finally decide and when I do, someone tells me to hold off, new iMacs are coming. ARGHH!!!!!

[1016JP1 Posted Jul 27th 2010 9:43PM]

Apple shit is always overpriced. You could go with another company and get something better for less. You basically pay for their logo.